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Join our panel of leading economic and transportation analysts as they share their exclusive insight on where rates are headed and the issues that will be driving those rate increases over the next 12 months.

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Friday, February 27, 2015

The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Logistics (BTS) reported this week that U.S. trade with its North America Free Trade Agreement partners Canada and Mexico in December 2014 was up 5.4 percent annually at $95.8 billion. This marks the 11th straight month of annual increases, according to BTS officials.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

While the volume decline was steep, there was numerous reasons behind it, including terminal congestion, protracted contract negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, and other supply chain-related issues, according to POLA officials.

Truckload rates for the month of January, which measures truckload linehaul rates paid during the month, saw a 7.9 percent annual hike, and intermodal rates dropped 0.3 percent compared to January 2014, which the report pointed out marks the first annual intermodal pricing decline since December 2013.

Largely leveraging the net positive impact of lower fuel prices, the Shippers Conditions Index (SCI) from freight transportation consultancy FTR made major strides in December, the most recent month for which data is available.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

With the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) recently agreeing to a tentative agreement on a new five-year contract last weekend covering about 20,000 port employees at 29 West Coast ports following roughly nine months of stops and starts and acrimonious negotiations, the focus for all port and supply chain stakeholders is firmly on the future.

As e-commerce has gotten bigger and bigger in recent years, consumers have become more comfortable shopping online, whether it be out of necessity or convenience. The numbers bear that out, too, as the percentage of goods ordered online has made major strides, especially in recent years.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Seasonally-adjusted (SA) for-hire truck tonnage in January was up 1.2 percent at 135.7 (2000=100) on the heels of a revised 0.1 percent increase in December. And on an annual basis SA tonnage was up 6.6 percent compared to January 2014, which the ATA said marks the single largest annual gain in more than a year.